Bicycle tire pump

ABSTRACT

A bicycle tire pump includes a movable connection member connected to the bottle end of the cylinder and the connection member has an insertion rod which is inserted into a tubular member on the base and fixed to the base. The tubular member includes positioning slots for guiding the connection member and the cylinder to be assembled to the tubular member. The pump can be quickly assembled with strong structure and manufactured with lower cost. The connection member and the base are two parts which can be made of different material for different needs.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a pump, and in particular to a bicycle tire pump which is manufactured at low cost and easily assembled.

2. The Prior Arts

A conventional bicycle tire pump is disclosed in FIG. 1 and which is invented by the applicant. The pump generally includes a first unit 50 and a second unit 60 and a cylinder 30 is connected between the first and second units 50, 60. The cylinder 30 includes at least two apertures 301/302 at the top end and the bottom end thereof. The first unit 50 includes a top cap 51 which has an insertion 511 so as to be inserted into the top open end of the cylinder 30. The insertion 511 includes at least two positioning holes 512 and a through hole 513 is defined axially and centrally through the top cap 51 and the insertion 511. A collar 52 is mounted to the top open end of the cylinder 30 and at least two side holes 521 are defined through the collar 52. Two clamp portions 522 extend radially from the collar 52 and each include two plates between which a recess is defined. Two bolts 73 extend through the side holes 521 of the collar 52 and the apertures 301 of the cylinder 30, and are connected to the washers 71 and the connection nuts 72 located in the positioning holes 512 of the insertion 511. The collar 52 and the insertion 511 are both connected to the cylinder 30.

A piston rod 10 extends through the through hole 513 of the top cap 51 and is inserted into the cylinder 30. A piston head 11 is connected to the distal end of the piston rod 10 and includes a groove with which an O-ring is engaged. The piston head 11 can moved reciprocally in the cylinder 30 and this is known to the persons in the art and will not be described in detail. The other end of the piston rod 10 extends through the top cap 51 and is connected to a handle 12 for the user to operate the piston rod 10.

A base 20 and the second unit 60 are connected to the bottom end of the cylinder 30 and the base 20 is a flat board for supporting the pump on the ground. A tubular member 21 extends upward from the top of the base 20 and a hose 23 is connected to an outlet on the outside of the tubular member 21. A protrusion 22 extends from a top of the tubular member 21 and is inserted into the open bottom of the cylinder 30. Two side holes 221 are defined through the protrusion 22. A passage 222 is defined in the center of the tubular member 21 and communicates with the outlet and the hose 23. A groove 223 is defined in the protrusion 22 and receives a seal 24 therein. When the protrusion 22 is inserted into the cylinder 30, the seal 24 is in contact with the inner periphery of the cylinder 30 so form an air tight circumstance. The second unit 60 includes a sleeve 61 and two through holes 611 are defined through the sleeve 61. The sleeve 61 is mounted to the bottom end of the cylinder 30 and the tubular member 21 by bolts 73 extending through the through holes 611 of the sleeve 61 and connected to the washers 71 and the connection nuts 72 in the side holes 221.

This conventional bicycle tire pump includes a simplified design and includes the cylinder 30, the first unit 50, the second unit 60 and the base 20 so that it can be easily assembled. The cylinder 30 is a circular and cylindrical tube which can be easily machined and cut. When compared with other conventional tire pumps which have to be made with inner threaded holes in two ends of the cylinder, this conventional bicycle tire pump have benefits on the issues of assembly and fabrication. Nevertheless, there are some shortcomings to be improved which are:

-   1. The sleeve 61 is mounted to the conjunction of the cylinder 30     and the tubular member 21 and positioned by the bolts 72 extending     through the through holes 611 of the sleeve 61 and connected to the     washers 71 and the connection nuts 72 in the side holes 221. It     takes a lot of time to complete the action. -   2. The tubular member 21 on the base 20 includes a certain degree of     complicatedness. The necessity of the sleeve 61 makes the tire pump     to include too many parts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a bicycle tire pump which can be manufactured at lower cost and includes less parts and material. The pump can be conveniently assembled. It is noted that the first unit and the piston rod are difficult to be improved, so that both of which will be used in the bicycle tire pump of the present invention. The characteristic in that the tubular member of the conventional pump is replaced by the connection member and the sleeve is replaced by the tubular member. The connection member includes an insertion rod and the tubular member on the base includes a connection hole and two positioning slots to make the assembling process to be more simplified and to reduce the cost of the fabrication.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view to show the conventional bicycle tire pump;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view to show the bicycle tire pump of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view to show the cylinder and the base with the tubular member of the bicycle tire pump of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a side cross sectional view of the bicycle tire pump of the present invention, and

FIG. 5 is another side cross sectional view of the bicycle tire pump of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to the drawings and in particular to FIGS. 2 and 3, the tubular member 21 on the base 20 of the conventional pump is cancelled because the tubular member 21 makes the base 20 be manufactured with too many processes, and the cylindrical connection member 31 is easily to be machined. The connection member 31 and the base 40 can be made by different materials or shapes to save the cost of the molds. The connection member 31 has a passage 311 defined axially therein and a groove 312 is defined in an outside thereof. A seal 32 is engaged with the groove 312. Two positioning holes 314 are defined through the connection member 31 and each of the positioning holes 314 receives a connection nut 72 and a washer 71. The number and position of the positioning holes 314 are then same and correspondent to the number and the position of the apertures 302. Two locking members such as bolts 73 in this embodiment, extend through the positioning holes 314 to fix the connection member 31 to the cylinder 30. An insertion rod 313 extends from a second end of the connection member 31 and the insertion rod 313 is a threaded rod in this embodiment. The passage 311 is defined through the connection member 31 and extends into the insertion rod 313 and communicates with an outlet 311′ defined radially through the insertion rod 313. The outlet 311′ communicates with the communication path 402 of the base 40. Two O-rings 76 are mounted to the insertion rod 313 and the outlet 311′ is located between the two rings 76.

The base 40 includes a tubular member 41 so as to receive the bottom end of the cylinder 30. The tubular member 41 on the base 40 is higher than positions of the locking members 73 on the tubular member 41 and the cylinder 30. The tubular member 41 includes two positioning slots 411 defined in an inner periphery thereof so that the bolts 73 on the connection member 31 are accommodated within the positioning slots 411. The positioning slots 411 of the tubular member 41 accommodate the locking members 73 after the locking members 73 are connected to the cylinder 30 so as to restrict rotation of the cylinder 30 relative to the tubular member 41. By the positioning slots 411, the assembly of the cylinder 30 and the tubular member 41 can be easy and quickly. A connection hole 401 is defined through the base 40 and communicates with the tubular member 41. The insertion rod 313 extends through the connection hole 401 and is fixed with a fixing nut 74 so as to fix the cylinder 30 to the base 40. By the connection of the insertion rod 313 and the base 40 and the support of the tubular member 41, the cylinder 30 and the base 40 are firmly connected. The base 40 includes a communication path 402 which communicates with the connection hole 401 and is connected with a hose 42. In this embodiment, the communication path 402 communicates with another communication path 403 which is connected with a pressure gauge 80. A seal bolt 75 is connected to an opening defined by the communication path 402 to seal the communication path.

The pump of the present invention includes the following advantages:

-   1. The bolts 73 protrude from the cylinder 30 and the heads of the     bolts 73 are accommodated within the positioning slots 411, so that     the cylinder 30 does not rotate and the assemblers can easily     assemble the cylinder 30 and the tubular member 41. -   2. The insertion rod 313 is connected to the base 40 by the fixing     nut 74 and cooperates with the tubular member 41 around the cylinder     30 to form a three-point support so that the cylinder is well     supported. -   3. The connection member 31 is a circular and cylindrical tube which     is easily machined and saves material. The connection member 31 and     the base 40 can be made of different materials to provide more     options to the users.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention which is intended to be defined by the appended claims. 

1. A bicycle tire pump, comprising: a cylinder, a piston rod, a first unit, a connection member, and a base, the first unit having a through hole defined axially therethrough, the piston rod extending through the through hole and inserted into the cylinder, a first end of the connection member and the base connected to a bottom end of the cylinder, wherein the connection member has a passage defined axially therein and a groove is defined in an outside thereof, a seal is engaged with the groove, two positioning holes are defined through the connection member and locking members are extended through the positioning holes to fix the connection member to the cylinder, an insertion rod extends from a second end of the connection member and the passage is defined through the connection member and extends into the insertion rod and communicates with an outlet defined radially through the insertion rod, two rings are mounted to the insertion rod and the outlet is located between the two rings; the base includes a tubular member so as to receive the bottom end of the cylinder, the tubular member includes two positioning slots defined in an inner periphery thereof so that the locking members on the connection member are accommodated within the positioning slots, a connection hole is defined through the base and communicates with the tubular member, the insertion rod is fixedly inserted into the connection hole, the base includes a communication path which communicates with the connection hole and is connected with a hose.
 2. The pump as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first unit includes a top cap and a collar, the top cap engaged with a top open end of the cylinder, the collar mounted to an outside of a conjunction portion between the cylinder and the top cap.
 3. The pump as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locking members extended through the positioning holes in the connection member are connection nuts.
 4. The pump as claimed in claim 1, wherein the number of the positioning holes of the connection member is the same as that of the apertures in the cylinder.
 5. The pump as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locking members extending through the positioning holes and the apertures of the cylinder are bolts.
 6. The pump as claimed in claim 1, wherein the insertion rod on the connection member is a threaded rod which extends through the connection hole and is connected to a fixing nut.
 7. The pump as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outlet communicates with the communication path of the base.
 8. The pump as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rings on the connection member are O-rings.
 9. The pump as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tubular member on the base is higher than positions of the locking members on the tubular member and the cylinder.
 10. The pump as claimed in claim 1, wherein the positioning slots of the tubular member accommodate the locking members after the locking members are connected to the cylinder so as to restrict rotation of the cylinder relative to the tubular member. 